Towards the Fire Zone
by paomayo
Summary: Ruthless. Efficient. Deadly. Mercenary Pilots have been known within the Frontier for their success on the battlefield on both sides. And a certain one is no different from the others. This is her mission.


_All trademarks, properties and copyrights associated with the manufacturers, models, trade names, entertainment and brands depicted in this fanfic are the property of their respective owners._

 **(Smuggler's Cove)**

Many would not dare enter the bleak and hellish place in the Frontier. Piracy, among other crimes, runs rampant around the area, becoming both the authority and law, and sanitation was not as good as other places controled by either the Frontier Militia or the Interstellar Manufacturing Corporation.

However if one were to enter, the person would be granted access to some of the finest, military-grade weaponry smuggled from the frontlines. As well, the Cove hosts a number of mercenary Titan Pilots looking for action and money to make a living and undercover agents on both sides would visit this area for their needs.

A dropship arrived at the Cove's airspace as it began its approach to a designated area: a shallow patch of water which is safe for most aircraft to land on. The landing gear was set and it gently landed with the bottom of the fuselage now being bathed. Powering down, it opened the door to reveal one passenger, a 40-year-old Caucasian man with a dark-green jacket and brown pants.

What many do not realize is that the man belonged to the Militia-aligned Angel City Elite led by a defector from the IMC named Robert Taube, also known as "Barker." While he may have problems in terms of drinking alcohol, his actions on the frontlines more than outweigh it as he led the faction to score several victories against his former employer that were enough to keep them occupied.

Approaching the ship was a small boat manned a crew of five pirates, all of which belonging to the so-called 'welcoming committee' that greets and escorts the travelers. Both were armed with assault rifles and submachine guns depending on the situation. The lead pirate, a 32-year-old female with her hair slightly messed up, walked towards the agent with her armed Hammond P2016 at her right hand.

"Well, Well… If it isn't Mathis." Knowing him, the woman greeted.

"It's been a while, Sasha." Mathis responded. The pirate leader nodded to her comrades to signal them to start the routine search, which prompted the agent to raise his arms. They confiscated his P2016 from his holster and checked every pocket for any other dangerous items. The search then ended shortly after finding no further suspicious items.

"What brought you here today? Looking for more mercenaries for your cause?" Sasha knew Mathis for a while since he usually visits the Cove for mercenaries.

"As usual." He replied. "But I'm looking for a specific one."

"We can talk about it on the way there. Follow us." The pirate woman guided the agent and her crew towards the boat and upon boarding, it began its trip to the mainland. "So luv… Who's that Pilot you are looking for?"

"You ever heard of a Pilot named Areash… The one with brown, curly hair and those purple eyes?" He gave a description.

"Oh...her?" Sasha began to remember this specific person. "Yeah...that one hell of a Pilot. She racked up like...23 Titan kills within her career plus a whole lotta dead bodies."

"Quite an impressive feet, if I say so myself." Mathis was intrigued about Areash.

"Trust me. I believe that negotiating with her would be quite difficult so you have to be on your toes if you want her to be hired."

"I already made contact with her so it won't be a problem. By the way...before I forget, did you saw her within the Cove?"

"Yeah, she arrived here about half an hour ago, so you should have some decent chances finding her."

"Alright, thank you for the tip." Mathis thanked the pirate for the information.

The boat arrived at the shore and the agent disembarked. Sasha and her subordinates escorted Mathis towards the nearby apartment building.

"This is our stop. Watch your ass out here." The leader told him while giving a pat to the agent's right shoulder. The 'committee' then left Mathis on his own.

While walking towards a known bar where the mercenaries would frequent, Mathis saw the town's economy booming as more shops began to pop up and many of the people were slightly well-off. At one point, he passed by a weapons seller showing his products such as an X-55 Devotion being sold for a resonably-priced 1100 credits.

"Quality weapons! I have quality weapons here!" The merchant shouted with his lungs working at full capacity, hoping to attract buyers. Then, one person arrived upon hearing his calls and the seller approached him. "Good day sir. Got something in mind?"

Mathis ignored the shouting as he moved on.

 **XXXXXXX**

After five minutes of walking, he arrived at the bar where the patrons were enjoying themselves. With food, booze, and a loud atmosphere being plentiful, he approached a vacant barstool that was offered to him after a customer left it while the bartender got hold of the empty lowball glass for cleaning. The bald-headed man was known by the local populace for his manners in an otherwise lawless town but has a personality that would hurt potential attackers if provoked.

"Welcome Mathis. Care to have a drink?" The bartender greeted him.

"You have some Connor's, Tim?" The agent was referring to the name of a product for rum.

"We still have them on stock ready for ya."

"Good. I'll have one." He requested.

"Coming right up." Tim began to prepare his drink as the patrons beside Mathis continued with theirs. Another customer, this time on the right side of him, began to prepare his credits for payment while Mathis continued with his search, looking everywhere within the room for the Pilot.

"Where the hell is she?" He quietly muttered in frustration before Tim returned with his glass filled with Connor's rum.

"Mathis, here ya go." He called out the agents name which caused the latter to see the bartender.

"Oh, thank you." As the agent began to drink, Tim attended to the customer on the right who was about to leave. Once the payment was made, he removed the glass from the top of the counter. Mathis then prepared his question. "By the way, have you ever saw a woman with brown, curly hair and purple eyes?"

"Well, yeah. She's frequented the bar ever since last year." Then, he noticed someone approaching the table from the left. "Looks like you came back, Areash."

"It's been a while, Tim." The voice of a female replied.

Both the utterance of that particular name and tone of the voice caught Mathis' attention as he turned to see a woman towards his back wearing a white jacket and brown cargo pants. As well, her physical features match that of what she told him.

"Looks like I finally found you, Miss Areash."

"And you must be Mathis, I presume?" Areash responded back as she sat on the right barstool.

"Correct. We met five days ago regarding the request on my behalf."

"That one, I never forgot about it." She turned her head to order her drink from Tim. "A bottle of Lightheart for a change."

"Coming right up." Tim obliged and turned away to prepare the order.

"What do you have for me, Mathis?" The Pilot requested her mission.

"I have the data drive containing the mission details." Mathis chose not to divulge any sensitive information. On his left hand was a small, slender hard drive containing the aforementioned contents and he showed it to her carefully. "Make sure you don't lose it even when you get back home."

"I will." With the file on her right hand, she concealed it inside the right pocket. After the moment passed, Tim arrived with her bottle of beer.

"Areash, here's the drink you ordered." Giving out a smile, he showed it to the female Pilot.

"Thank you." She grabbed hold of the neck of the cold bottle before taking a drink of it. Mathis has some words left to say before leaving with his mission completed.

"I'll be going now. Be careful out there." Mathis said to the mercenary as he prepared his credits for the payement before making his call to Tim. "Tim, I'll be leaving."

"You as well." The Pilot nodded.

"Leaving so soon, eh?" The bartender chuckled as he received the payment from the agent.

"Yeah...my work here's done." He stood up from the barstool before walking away to see Sasha and her pirates.

"Thank you for your time, Mat." The bartender thanked him as he mixed himself among the crowd to quietly slip away from any potential threats. Areash turned her head away from them and continued with her drinking once her new employer disappeared.

 _A/N: This one is quite short but it will serve as a supplementary fanfic for_ Aldnoah: Liberation _. If you are interested, I won't stop you._

 _By the way, did anyone piloted Monarch in Multiplayer? It's a real blast to use._


End file.
